Do you know an outstanding educator? The Buffalo Bills and M&T Bank are calling on fans to nominate Western New York’s “Hall of Fame-caliber” educators for the ninth annual Touchdown for Teachers contest.
The grand prize winner will receive $2,000 in grant funds for their school or district. They’ll also get an in-class visit from a current or former Buffalo Bills player.
Touchdown for Teachers always tries to get a current Bills player for the classroom visit, said Sean Quinn, M&T’s retail regional manager for Western New York.
“We’ve had Freddy Jackson, he came out last year. We’ve had a couple Hall of Fame Bills players that have come out in years past,” Quinn said.
Quinn outlined to WBFO what makes a “Hall of Fame-caliber” teacher.
“The teachers that seem to do really well are those that are bringing a lot of energy to their classrooms and positive motivation toward the students,” Quinn said. “But the ones that I’ve noticed that have one in the past also have a lot of community involvement.”
Four other finalists will get $500 grants for their school or district. Educators must be nominated by the end of the month.
“The money is definitely payable to the school or school district that the teacher works for, but in the past, the teacher that wins that grant does seem to have some say in terms of where that money went because it was that teacher that earned those funds,” Quinn said.
Educators can be nominated on the Bills website by March 31.